PGA Tour golfer fumes at commentators: "I despise it, honestly, to tell you the truth"
PGA Tour member Billy Horschel reckons golf commentators need to stop telling viewers during broadcasts how much money they players are competing for.
PGA Tour golfer Billy Horschel is no stranger to offering strong opinions.
The 37-year-old's latest frustration is how golf commentators repeatedly inform their audiences how much money players in the field are competing for.
It go to the point where the American went to the Tour and asked if they could relay messages to the TV crews.
Horschel gets particularly annoyed when the Tour Championship rolls around and people are frequently told how much cash is on the line.
If you didn't know, PGA Tour's season finale offers a $75,000,000 purse.
Viktor Hovland is the reigning champion and scooped last year's $18,000,000 bonus.
Horschel, the 2014 champion, got a bonus cheque for $10,000,000.
Tiger Woods was the inaugural winner of the FedEx Cup in 2007.
Woods also won $10,000,000 and the prize purse remained the same until 2019 when Rory McIlroy emerged the victor and was given a cheque for $15,000,000.
"I hate talking about the financials of it. I despise it, honestly, to tell you the truth," Horschel told the Smylie Show in the latest edition of the podcast with the former PGA Tour pro.
"For many years now, I've told the tour—especially at the Tour Championship—that we need to tell TV to stop talking about how much money the FedEx Cup winner gets because I know people don't want to know about the millions of dollars they make."
He added: "They don't want to be repeatedly told how much money they're playing for. It makes them feel even smaller."
Horschel joined the Tour in 2011 and has gone on to win $39,221,692 in official prize money.
The golfer endured a tough spell in 2023 that included him breaking down in tears at the Memorial after he got off to a nightmare start as the defending champion.
But he returned to the winner's circle in April, capturing the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic to end a two-year drought.
He then contended at the final men's major of the year, tying for second with Justin Rose as Xander Schauffele put on a clinic to claim The Open at Royal Troon.
Horschel is in the field at this week's Wyndham Championship.
He carded an opening round of 8-under to trail Beau Hossler by two shots.
Hossler flirted with a 59 but had to settle for a 60.
Read more about that here.
Year | Winner | Prize money |
2007 | Tiger Woods | $10,000,000 |
2008 | Vijay Singh | $10,000,000 |
2009 | Tiger Woods | $10,000,000 |
2010 | Jim Furyk | $10,000,000 |
2011 | Bill Haas | $10,000,000 |
2012 | Brandt Snedeker | $10,000,000 |
2013 | Henrik Stenson | $10,000,000 |
2014 | Billy Horschel | $10,000,000 |
2015 | Jordan Spieth | $10,000,000 |
2016 | Rory McIlroy | $10,000,000 |
2017 | Justin Thomas | $10,000,000 |
2018 | Justin Rose | $10,000,000 |
2019 | Rory McIlroy | $15,000,000 |
2020 | Dustin Johnson | $15,000,000 |
2021 | Patrick Cantlay | $15,000,000 |
2022 | Rory McIlroy | $18,000,000 |
2023 | Viktor Hovland | $18,000,000 |
